Flaming Embers of a Hurtful Past
by Munkysym
Summary: What will happen when after almost six years Brooke is still looking for revenge from Lucas and Peyton for hurting her the way they did? What repercusions will it bring? Who will Lucas choose in the end? Leyton? Brucas? Suck at summaries. AU. R
1. Prologue

**Hey! This is the sort of revamped version of Anything But Ordinary. It will have somethings in common but besides that the whole plot is basically different. Hope you guys enjoy it, and would greatly enjoy and appreciate feedback. Btw I don'd own OTH or any of its characters. If I did things would be completely different. Anyways, enough with the ranting just R&R. Will update soon.**

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**Prologue**

"_Is this really happening to me?"_ Was the first thing that crossed his mind, while watching the glistening and grandiose majesty of the city from the spot that he had learned to call his own over the pass of the years. "_Or is this one of those sick and twisted dreams its nearly impossible to wake up from, until it is a split second too late and the evil that was fiercely hunting you, already has you under its tight and suffocating embrace."_

He was still so overwhelmed by the news that even the one thing that usually brought some tranquility to this crazy life, one which most of the time he could claim as his, was not helping in soothing this massive adrenaline flow that was now rushing through his shacking and frail body. He could not believe that that one time mistake could have such severe repercussions on what he now saw as the rest of his life.


	2. Chapter 1: Truth Untold

**Hope you enjoy it. R&R.**

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**Chapter 1: Truth Untold**

_Now going back a little over two months ago, Lucas remembered every second with a disturbingly accurate amount of details. As he remembered, and if his memory didn't fail now, the events of those daysunfolded somewhat like this: _

Brooke and Lucas were lying in her dorm room making out deeply and passionately. Even after all this years he still had the power to make her shiver with every touch of his fingertips. Without having a concrete reason as to why this happened, and without completely comprehending the backlashes this emotions might have, he still made her feel complete.

Curious as to what differences they might find after all this time without touching her now completely developed body, his hands started to wonder around all of Brooke's body. He started on the verge of her neck and was now right under her breasts; he kept directing his lips south, and now found himself at her flat, well defined, and toned stomach.

Brooke could feel Lucas's breath getting shorter and raspier, and she knew that he was quickly getting aroused. The thought of this made her feel splendidly great because her plans were unfolding just as she had schemed them from the very beginning. She has been anxiously waiting years for this moment. Seven years to be exact. She had been waiting for the exact moment to make her move and this was it. She could not back down now. Brooke had needed this ever since sophomore yeah when Lucas and Peyton betrayed her and decided to be happy together.

Even from the mere dawn of Brooke's plans, the main idea has always been directed towards the sole purpose of making Peyton feel what Brooke felt by being fooled and betrayed by the persons who were supposed to be her life-long best friend and her adored boyfriend.

Brooke's plans were intended to make Peyton suffer the way she did, by making Lucas cheat on Peyton with no other person than Brooke herself. After a lot of thinking and brainstorming over the years following her and Lucas's breakup, earlier today she had finally gotten a hold of Lucas's phone number and surprisingly found a way to get Lucas to meet her for dinner with the excuse that she needed to talk to him about something important, something concerning Peyton past, something that according to her he needed to know if he wanted to be happy with Peyton in the future, and something she assured she only knew since she was her former best-friend.

When Brooke called Lucas that morning she told they would meet at a local bar near the apartment he and Peyton had. Lucas found this whole thing so strange but besides the fact that Brooke had mentioned something regarding Peyton, he still saw this as a great opportunity to rekindle his long lost friendship with Brooke. There was one things that did call to his attention and it was the fact that Brooke made him promise that he wouldn't say a word about their meeting to Peyton. But he didn't really pay attention to this detail because Brooke had always been like this, secretive.

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Couple of hours after Brooke's call Lucas was alone on the court near their apartment shooting some hoops when he suddenly felt some small hands wrap around his waist, just to turn around to find his girlfriend staring at him. 

"Hey" Lucas said, just before bending down to kiss his very attractive girl.

"Hey, you sexy-sweaty-basketball player", said Peyton smirking at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What? I can't come to check on my man, just to make sure he's not cheating with my best friend?" Peyton said with a big smile on her face and letting out a laugh.

"Ha ha, not funny. Not funny at all". Lucas said, with an obviously fake annoyed face.

"Dr. Scott, I need to ask you a question, does it mean I'm either sick or crazy if I'm not able to breathe or focus when you are not around me?" Peyton asked in a very sexy and appealing voice.

"Not at all, Miss Sawyer, those are the side effects of Lucas Scott's daily dose of love," said Lucas, bending down a little to kiss Peyton tenderly. "I'm told that I tend to be very addictive, its just normal that you need to have me around at all times, but its ok I wont press stalking charges. I promise."

"Well Doctor, I guess your diagnoses is correct because I want you real bad, right now" she answered sticking her tongue out in his direction, and he interpreted this as an invitation to grab her tongue and make it his.

They forgot where they were and started making out as passionate as humanly possible. All of a sudden they a very familiar voice say "Guys, you are doing an R rated show where kids come to play basketball, not to learn how to have foreplay". That made Lucas smirk at his girl and then turn around to look at Jon. Jon was the closest thing Lucas had to a best friend during his years of college, and they had grown pretty tight over the years.

"Dude, we were in the middle of something important!" Lucas said in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah Jon, you've never seen us interrupt you and Sam when you make out in front of us. Have you?" Peyton said with a big smile on her face, while Lucas was wrapping his arms around Peyton's waist.

"That's because you are always doing the same thing as we are" Jon in a joking tone.

"Well, maybe you have a point." Lucas said after looking at Peyton, smiling at her, and giving her a soft peck.

"Ewww! Seriously I'm going to ask very politely to stop doing that when I'm around and Sam is not. At least when I'm with her I'm not forced to see you guys do it, because well most of the time I'm doing it myself. Plus, it's really very disgusting to have to watch my best friends make out. Anyways I'm really hungry, I was on my way to the diner down the street to grab something, but some company won't hurt. Do you guys want to join me."

"Yeah, why not? You up for it babe?" Lucas asked Peyton and she nodded in response. With this the trio started to walk down the streets and towards the diner.

This dinner reminded him so much of his mom's café back in Tree Hill, and that always wasn't a good thing. He seldom came to this diner because without him knowing why, it always reminded him of the last time he and Nathan ever spoke to each other. Lucas and Nathan hadn't talked in almost six years now and that hurt Lucas because as much as he cared about his brother he couldn't look past what he did. Whenever he even considered forgiving Nathan his mind drifted to that distant day when their relationship changed forever.

"_Well, well, well I can see there's a meeting of the town backstabbing hoes and precocious brides. What are you guys plotting on your next assault on happy couples, or maybe planning how to get married to any of the other rich kids in town?" Brooke said as she walked in the café and saw Lucas, Peyton and Haley sitting on one of the stalls. _

"_God Brooke, how many times do I have to tell you I'm sorry, we never meant for this to happen like the way it did." Peyton said sincere regret present in her voice._

"_Oh yeah, I forgot someone put a gun to your head and forced you to make out and later on sleep with Lucas". Brooke said with a fake smile on her face._

"_Brooke, would you just drop it. Face it, Peyton and I are meant for each other, I love her and she loves me back. I never really meant to hurt you Brooke, things just happened between us." Lucas said in a somewhat angry tone._

"_Why couldn't you notice that before you asked me to be your girlfriend? Lucas, I trusted you, and Peyton you were my best friend. Hoes over Bros, Buds over Studs, remember? I thought that you trusted me enough to tell me what was going on, before I had to find out the way I did. Why didn't you guys come up to me when all this started, we could've talk and yes, I would've probably been pist and hurt at first, but after a while I would've been able to forgive you guys and maybe even be truly happy for you, because you would've told me the things upfront and in my face. I loved you guys too much… right now I'm so confused, I hate the two people I never thought I would." Brooke said as she started to see Peyton's eyes get teary. _

"_Brooke drop it, would you. How many times have I said I'm sorry? " Lucas stated even madder than before._

"_Well Lucas that's a lame excuse, and I have to inform you that sorry doesn't cut it, you guys betrayed me in the worst way. You…" Brooke said with anger and confusion in her eyes._

_Nathan who was stopping by to give Haley a kiss, before heading off to shoot some hoops at the River Court quickly noticed what was going on and suddenly interrupted Brooke's statement, by saying "Brooke, you're not exactly the one to talk about betrayal."_

"_What the hell do you mean Tutor Husband?" Brooke turned around quickly and abruptly to face Nathan as she said this._

"_Brooke, I'm tired of keeping this to myself, its eating me up inside. I can't let you make Lucas and Peyton feel guilty about this anymore. Lucas, Peyton…, guys I'm so sorry I didn't say this before." Nathan suddenly looked down with embarrassment and regret on his face._

"_What haven't you said? What are you sorry about? What do you know we don't, Nathan huh?" Lucas said with anxiety and growing curiosity on his face._

"_You remember Tim had a party around the time you and Brooke started dating, and you couldn't go because you had to stay at the cafe helping your mom?"_

"_Yes, and?" Lucas said already starting to imagine things that could've possibly happened that night._

"_Brooke and I got pretty wasted, and one thing led to another, … well Brooke and I ended up in her place. Luke, we slept toge… " Nathan couldn't even finish saying what he was saying, when he felt some strong pressure on his face. Before Nathan could even react, Luke was on top of him beating the living hell out of him. _

"_Lucas, Stop" Peyton and Haley screamed, while some of the guys that worked at the cafe, started to barge in. Mean while punches were flying from Lucas towards Nathan, but surprisingly Nathan was doing nothing to stop the punches from getting to him. Nathan knew he deserved every single one of the punches he was getting._

_When the guys finally managed, after a while, to get Lucas off of Nathan, Nathan was all bruised up and bleeding from several spots in his face. "Why the Fuck would you do that? You're supposed to be my friend, but overall you're supposed to be my brother god damn it."_

"_Dude, I know I can't say anything in my defense, but I thought I was doing the right thing at the moment. I thought you and Brooke deserved to have a chance. But then the whole Peyton thing happened, and I just couldn't find the right moment to bring it up right till now."_

"_And what made you decide that now was the right moment to say that?" Peyton said while kneeling down to face Lucas who was on the floor still digesting everything that happened. Nathan stayed quiet._

"_Nathan…" Haley started to talk with a shaky voice and on the verge of tears while she was bending down next to Lucas, but Nathan stopped her on her tracks already knowing what she was going to say._

"_Don't worry Haley; it was before we started dating." Nathan said facing down to the floor, trying to hide the tears that were obviously flowing down his bruised cheeks. "Haley, the whole reason why I started to drink at that party was because I couldn't find the guts to ask you out even though I knew I liked you. Every time I tried to ask you out I just choked, I was so insecure, I never thought a girl like you would fall for a jerk like me. Brooke was lonely and angry because she said Lucas never had time for her; it was always one excuse after the other, so I guess we were each others support for that night. I never meant for things to come out this way, I understand if you guys are really pist and confused and you won't want to see me again for a while, but…"_

"_You're damn right I don't want to see you or talk to you for the rest of my life." Lucas screamed in Nathan's face._

"_But" Nathan continued, "I want you to know that I never intended to damage our relationship, Lucas, I mean I know when we met I was a jerk and I couldn't face the fact that you where my brother, but after a while you came to be more than my brother man, you're also my best friend."_

"_Well, just go back to being the jerk you were, or still are, and pretend you never liked me, or as a matter of fact just pretend I never existed, because from this moment on, you're dead to me Nathan. It's like I never had a brother."_

"_Lucas don't…, you're being too harsh on him…" Peyton started talking but was aggressively and abruptly cut off by Lucas. _

"_Oh, so now you're gonna tell me that this doesn't bother the least bit. Now all of a sudden I'm the bad guy? So Brooke can take it out on us for falling in love, but I can't take it out on them for being hypocrites and liars?" Lucas said, almost screaming, while he threw fierce glances at Nathan, who was obviously shaken by what had just happened with his big brother and Brooke, who stood there in total disbelief trying to get used to the idea that one of her deepest darkest secrets has just been revealed._

"_Yes it does Lucas, I can't tell you I'm thrilled about what I just heard, but we made our share of mistakes too, but that's just what they are, babe, mistakes. And you, and for that matter me too, out of everyone should know anyone deserves a second chance." Peyton said as she drew closer and closer to Luke as she talked, when she finally reached him and drew his strong body around her in a tight hug, and everyone else just stared in a sepulchral silence._

_The place was in an obvious disarray after all the fighting that had been going on between Nathan and Lucas; chair and tables were tilted over, the plates and cups that had rested on top of them were now tiny pieces lying on the floor, curtains where pulled from the windows, puddles coffee and cupcakes where laying everywhere._

_Peyton pulled Lucas away for a second while everyone remained static; it was like everyone was screwed to the floor, shocked with the news they had just heard. Nathan was standing facing down obviously holding back tears; Haley was still kneeling on the floor right where she had been when Lucas was next to her; and Brooke, Brooke just stood there, that's all she did, her face was blank from any emotion, her mind was busy reliving what had just happened. _

_Brooke was still in denial; she couldn't believe Nathan had told on them; not after he had sworn to keep things secret. But what freaked her out the most was that he could and most likely would keep talking. Brooke knew Nathan needed to have a clean slate before he could be a new guy, a guy he was trying so hard to be. She was afraid that he could tell the whole truth and that made her heart just drop and skip a beat. Brooke knew that things could get a lot worse than what they just did. Brooke still refused to admit the idea that her 'friends' could find out the whole truth. More than her former friends she was afraid that Peyton would find out the whole and hurtful truth._

"Dude, Lucas, Hello" Lucas realized that Jon had apparently been talking to him for a while now.

"Sorry, I zoned out for a while there."

"Yeah, we noticed that a long time ago buddy." Jon said while a small laugh escaped his mouth.

"So what were you thinking about babe?" Peyton asked while placing her chin on Lucas's shoulder.

"Nothing big, just thinking about Tree Hill."

"Uh oh, am I going to have to get tissues man? Because every time you bring Tree Hill up we all end up getting homesick." Jon said and Peyton nodded in agreement. "You know what I don't even want to know what you were thinking about, I don't want to have to call my mom again tonight; I already talked to her this morning."

"Still attached at the hip Jonnie Boy?" Peyton asked and Lucas laughed.

"Whatever, you know me and my mom are really tight." Jon said going back to eating his burger.

"Look, I'm tight with my mom too, but we don't call each other every single day and talk for over an hour." Lucas said and Jon gave him the finger, and in response to this Lucas started to fake cough and mumble 'Momma's Boy' between each cough.

"You know what if you are going to start teasing me again I'm leaving." Jon said while grabbing his plate and standing up.

"No man. You know I was kidding."

"Yeah you always are. But I'm starting to wonder why do I always have to be the butt of your jokes?"

"Because you give me plenty of material to joke around with." When Lucas said this Jon once again grabbed his plate and stood up. "Come on man, why do you have to be so serious? It was just a joke. But ok, if you are going to be a girl about it I'll drop it." Lucas said before grabbing a fry and shoving it into his mouth.

"Thank you" Jon managed to say between bites.

"You are welcome" Lucas said doing the same thing.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom and when I come back I expect you guys to have learned some manners." Peyton said as she shoved Lucas off the stall.

"Hey, who said we don't have manners?" Lucas said with his mouth full of fries while Peyton headed off towards the bathroom.

Jon waited until Peyton was not visible anymore to speak again. "So when are you planning to pop the question?"

"I don't know yet. I'm still looking for the right time. I want this to be perfect. I want it to be so perfect she won't even know what hit her. She won't even think about saying no."

"You get her tiger."


	3. Chapter 2: Relationships Tested

**Well Chapter 2 is up. Hope you guys enjoy andkeep thereviews coming. Btw everything in italics are high school flashbacks. **

Cristy  
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**Chapter 2: Relationships Tested**

He had been sitting at the roof for hours now, he just kept reminiscing, thinking about how and when he let things get this crazy. He was reliving every single detail of the past two months, he remembers every smell, every sound, and every word, and he realizes that most of the things he did were worthless now that the woman he loves hates him with all her guts. And he figures that he will never be able to forgive himself because it was all his fault, after all, he had made the biggest mistake. He did something he promised himself never to do again. He cheated on a girlfriend, yet again, with the only person he most certainly knew she would never forgive him to cheat with, her ex-best friend.

His mind drifted back to those months when everything seemed to be easier. And there he was again living in the past and trying not to worry about the future.

The trio left the diner about an hour ago. Jon headed home to Sam and Peyton and Lucas were now back in their apartment. She was on the couch drawing some sketches and he was on his laptop trying to write his paper on the impact the Medieval literature had on European history. Yes, his Literature major could get boring and difficult sometimes but he still enjoyed every second of it. Now he had a real excuse to spend all his time reading.

While he was looking for some of the renowned Irish theologian C.S. Lewis's work on medieval literature he stumbled upon one of his most famous quotes; one regarding forgiveness. Lewis once said wrote "Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive." He knew this couldn't be more true, because when he and Peyton had made a mistake he wanted nothing more than to be forgiven but when it came to him having to forgive Nathan for the same mistake he had committed, it was virtually impossible to even think about it. This quote was enough to send his mind back to high school, back to the night when he found out about Nathan and Brooke.

_

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By the time Peyton managed to drag Lucas to the alley behind the cafe he had totally zoned out on her. A million questions where running through his mind at the same time. How could Brooke be capable to lie in such a vile way? Had Brooke made them feel guilty all this time just to reduce her own guilt, to not face reality and to not realize that she was the liar and the backstabber and not them? How would Peyton take all this? Would this affect Peyton's feelings towards Brooke? He knew how Peyton got when she was hurt or very emotional, would she react the same? Would Peyton shut him out or push him away? How will this affect their relationship? Will they ever go back to be the same? What would… Lucas was suddenly ripped apart from his thoughts when he realized Peyton had been talking to him for a while now and he hadn't heard a word. _

"_Lucas, Lucas, Luke… Are you listening to me?" Peyton said while snapping her fingers in front of Luke's eyes._

"_Humm. What? Oh Yeah, sure I was listening"_

"_Yeah, right. Then what was I telling you? What do you think about what I just said, are you OK with it or no?" _

"_Yeah I think you're right, were definitely on the same page here."_

"_Oh, so you agree that little, green aliens live under our bed?" she said raising a brow. _

"_Peyt, I'm sorry" he said while avoiding to make eye contact at all costs "I'm really confused, I can't even think straight right now."_

"_And it would be totally wrong if you felt otherwise. Lucas I want you to know that no matter what happens I love you and I'll be here for you" Lucas was relieved to hear those words from Peyton because now some of the questions he was asking himself before were answered with what she just said. She wasn't going to push him away or shut him out and build her walls up again. At this exact moment Lucas knew that if Brooke and what just happened couldn't tear them apart, nothing would. _

_Lucas and Peyton's surroundings were almost in complete darkness, only lit by the full moon above their heads. For a while there was a complete silence between them. The silence was interrupted for some sporadic seconds by the sound of a passing car or that of a rat rummaging through the garbage. Peyton and Lucas were tightly wrapped in each others arms for all this time, just feeling the heat of each others body. Peyton could hear Lucas's steady heartbeat and Lucas was lost in the sweet smell of Peyton's hair. The two broody blondes just stood there and didn't think about anything except each other. It was like time had stopped and they were the only two persons in the world._

_All of a sudden one of their voices broke the silence. "Lets get out of here, we don't have to face any of this or any of them. At least not now", he said while kissing the top of her head. _

"_Lets go to my place, my dad left again." she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It sounds like a great plan, just you and me tonight." he said giving her a gentle but at the same time loving kiss._

"_Peyt, you think we could walk? I really don't fell like driving and I'm definitely not letting you drive my truck. I have seen the way you drive I've come to the conclusion that it would be a public hazard to even let you drive and an even worst personal hazard to be in the same vehicle while you're behind the wheel." Lucas said while letting escape a laugh. He was just trying to relieve the tension. It was just a joke but it didn't seem to please her at all, so he quickly added "But I love you so much that I'll even let you drive Daisy back to your place."_

"_You know it's really lame that you named your lousy truck Daisy." she said while they started walking. _

_The rest of the walk to Peyton's house was pretty silent. Lucas and Peyton walked hand to hand. Before they knew they were standing in her front porch. They opened the door and a minute passed before their eyes could adjust to the darkness of the house. They were now entering the living room and Peyton turned on the lights and slouched on the couch, being followed seconds later by Lucas. Peyton rested her head on Lucas's laps and quickly found herself staring directly into his clear blue eyes. _

"_What do you wanna do know?"_

"_I don't know, as long as you're here with me I'm good." Lucas answered while bending his back a little to kiss the hazel-eyed blonde that now rested on his lap. _

_They where now submerged in each other and the kiss seemed to be never ending when they where suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Lucas and Peyton heard the knocks but tried to ignore them at first, thinking that the person would just get tired and leave. But they soon found out they were wrong, whoever was knocking was not going anywhere until that door was opened. _

"_Ughhh, who could that be. People just seem to have very bad timing. Someone always need something when we finally get a minute to ourselves." Lucas said obviously annoyed by the continuous knocks on the door. "Coming" he screamed while gently getting Peyton off of him._

_Lucas opened the door and quickly slammed it closed as soon as he saw who was on the other side. Peyton who heard the loud thud quickly got up from the couch and headed for the door. But to her surprise by the time she was in the hall Lucas was already in front of her and she could see the shock and anger in his face. While she started to hear again even louder knocks on the door she turned around to face Lucas who was already sitting on the couch ignoring the sounds coming from the front of the house._

"_Luke who is it? Why'd you slam the door like that?" Knocks were still coming from the front door._

"_Why don't you go and check it out yourself if you're so interested in who it is." He said very upset._

_Now you could not only hear the knocks, there was a voice that came along with them and said "Guys, I'll be happy to bust my knuckles out here knocking all night. I just want you to know we're not going anywhere until you open this d…" but the voice just stopped as soon as the door opened to a very surprised Peyton, who just couldn't believe that the people who were knocking so enthusiastically the door were no others than Nathan and Haley Scott._

"_Nathan, what are you doing here? Haven't you done enough for one day?"_

"_Peyton, if I'm going to tell the truth I'm going to tell the whole truth, not just a part of it"_

"_Oh, there's still more? Huh, interesting"_

"_Aren't you going to invite us in?" Haley added._

"_Look Haley, Luke is your best friend and I thought you knew him better than to bring Nathan here today. You know this could end up pretty bad."_

"_Yes, but it's a risk Nathan was willing to take, he already told me everything, and he was convinced you guys needed to know the rest of the story, and that you needed to know it today. Look I gotta tell you he's not my favorite person right now, but he's my husband and I'm here to support him. And I'm here to support Lucas too, because he's my best friend." A long pause happened and Haley suddenly broke the silence. "So…, you're still not asking us to come in?"._

"_Hales, I don't know, Lucas is very shaken up. I'm not sure it…"_

"_You've got five minutes Nathan and then I want you gone forever. Five minutes." Lucas said pointing to the living room. "And I expect you to be wise in the use of your time cuz I'm not giving you an extra second so just go straight to the point and say what you have to say and I expect it to be the whole truth this time."_

_Nathan and Haley sat down where Lucas and Peyton had been previously. Luke and Peyton stood in front of them waiting to hear what they had to say. Lucas wrapped his arms around Peyton's petite waist and Peyton did the same to his waist. It made them feel safe, like nobody could hurt them when they were in each others arms._

"_Luke, Peyt, before I start I want you guys to know that I'm really sorry for any damage I will or have caused. I also want you to know that I wanna be a better guy for me, for Haley, for everyone. The reason I decided to talk now, after all this time, is because I figured out that the only way I can start with a clean slate is telling the truth about all the times I screwed up things in the past."_

"_Only got two minutes left, so if I was you I would get to the point, cuz I'm not wasting my night on you." After Lucas said this Peyton threw a defiant glance at him and pushed him away. Peyton knew she had to be angry in some way with Nathan but she wasn't, at all. She couldn't be mad at Nathan. After they broke up they had gotten pretty close, and they had a brother/sister relationship now. She kind of felt sorry for him, because she knew that he had screwed things pretty badly with Lucas and that it will take time and effort for Lucas to trust him again. She knew Nathan cared about his brother and that he really feels sorry for what happened, and that those things happened when he was the old Nathan, when he was Nathan the Jerk, Nathan the Bully. She knows he's a new guy now, because Haley changed him._

"_Peyton, I didn't sleep with Brooke for the first time at Tim's party. When I was dating you, Brooke and I slept together tons of times, sometimes we had just finished having sex and I told you I had to go because I had practice or something, but the truth is I'd go over to Brooke's house and most of the times I'd spend the night there. I really don't know when it started or how it started I just know it happened. It had been happening since before we started dating, it happened during the year and a half you and me were together, we broke up and she had already hooked up with Lucas, and we still kept having casual meetings at her place. I mean I'm sure there were no feelings there, it was just pure sex. I guess we enjoyed the fact of having sex with no strings attached."_

_By the time he was done Peyton had tears flowing down her face. All through this Lucas had tried to get near her but she just shoved him away. All Peyton wanted to do right now was run. Run from everything and from everybody. But she couldn't run, she couldn't move, it was like her body had just stopped functioning. This hit her hard and it hit her deep. Her best friend had fooled her all this time. Brooke had made her and Lucas feel guilty about what they did, when in reality what Brooke did was much worse. Lucas and Peyton did it for love, Brooke did it for sex. Peyton never thought Brooke would throw away a friendship of so many years for sex. What happened to Hoes over Bros, Buds over Studs? Did that mean nothing to Brooke? Dumb question, obviously it didn't. All of a sudden she came back from her world of thoughts to find Haley, Nathan and Lucas staring straight at her. They wanted to know what she thought about all this, especially Nathan. His eyes were pleading for forgiveness. Nathan was trying to speak but the words wouldn't come out. Seconds later he found the strength to blurt out some words, but not before Lucas spat some aggressive words at him._

"_You know every day you look more and more like Dan. I guess its true what they say, like father like son. Well Nathan your five minutes are up, so get the hell out of here." _

"_I really am sorry. I hope some day you guys can forgive me."_

"_Hales, how can you still be with this idiot. For all you know he could still be sleeping with Brooke." Lucas asked._

"_Luke cut it out. Nathan is a different guy now. I love him and I know he loves me too and that he would never do anything to hurt me."_

"_Whatever Hales, but when something happens I'm going to be the first one to say 'I told you so'."_

_Nathan and Haley started to head towards the door. Nathan sure he had lost two of the most important things in his life: Peyton's friendship and Lucas's brotherly love. He probably would never get over that. Now that he was starting a new life, being a new man, the past had come back to bite him in the ass. Haley took his hand trying helplessly to comfort him. She knew him too well, Haley knew Nathan was tearing up inside because he had just lost his two best friends. Nathan and Haley were already on the front lawn when Nathan turned around one last time, he had one last chance. Maybe after all Peyton would forgive him, but all he saw was hurt in Peyton's eyes and hate and disappointment in Lucas's as he shut the door. Nathan could feel his heart shatter to little pieces, just at the thought of losing Peyton. He was getting ready to jump into the passenger seat of their car when he heard the peculiar sound that Peyton's front door did every time it opened or closed. To Nathan's surprise, when he turned around he saw Peyton standing in the middle of her front lawn. Peyton was looking straight at him, but he couldn't see anything in her eyes other than forgiveness. Nathan started walking towards Peyton. When he finally got to her they hugged._

"_I'm sorry, Peyt."_

"_Don't be, everyone makes mistakes. It'd be wrong if I didn't forgive you. I have my share of mistakes too. Everyone does and I also know that everyone deserves a second chance to mend their mistakes"_

"_I'm sorry, Peyton. I'll never get tired if saying it. I screwed up big time. I don't deserve to have you as a friend. I betrayed your trust."_

"_You know Nate, you're right you don't deserve me as a friend" she said as she broke free from the hug "cuz I'm so much more than that. We have something more than a friendship and I wasn't going to let that go down the drains because of Brooke, she's not worth it."_

"_Don't ever scare me like that again" he said as they hugged._

_Haley and Lucas were observing this from the car and the front door, respectively. Haley was very pleased with what was happening. Lucas, not so much. Nathan suddenly caught a glimpse of Lucas's face from the spot where he was fooling around with Peyton and immediately the smile disappeared from his face. Peyton understood why immediately and just said: "Give him some time Nate, just give him some time". _

* * *

Lucas was torn away from his memories when he felt Peyton's hands slide down his shoulders and rest in his chest. 

"Thinking about Nathan?" she asked and he looked up at her confused. "You only get that hurt look on your face when you are thinking of him."

"You know the fact that you know me so much is starting to scare me." He said as she bent down to peck his lips.

"I try, I try." She said right before letting out a laugh. "Come here" as she pulled him from the chair and onto the couch behind them. He sat first and then Peyton sat on top of him. "If the fact that you and Nathan are not close anymore is bugging you then do something about it. Nobody else will do it for you." As he heard this he broke their gaze but she pushed his chin so he would be looking at her again. "Lucas, look at me. He made a mistake, kinda like we did. And look how well that has 'mistake' turned out for us. Our mistake led us to be together and his mistakes made him the great guy he is today. A guy you wouldn't know is so great after all because you have never given him a chance."

"Peyton he lied! He…" he tried to continue talking but was cut off by Peyton.

"Oh, and what do you call what we did? Lucas, we lied too. But everyone makes mistake. And everyone deserves a second chance Lucas. We both should know that better than anybody."

"Yes, but…" he said but couldn't find the words to express all the confusion that was inside him right now. He wanted to forgive Nathan, he really did. Because that way he could finally let go of the past and be the man he wanted to be for his future, but every time he tried or even thought about forgiving Nathan some unknown anger stirred up inside him and that was as far as his plans would go.

"But nothing Luke" she said as she tucked a couple of stray strands of hair behind her ears to get a better look at him. "Just promise me you'll think about it. Ok?" she said but got no answer from him. "Lucas Eugene Scott I'm talking to you." She said as he furrowed his brows.

"Yes mom."

"Do I seriously look that old? Like old enough to be your mom?" She said as she looked at herself up and down completely. "I don't look old you idiot. I look perfect."

"Yes you do." He said as he kissed her slightly on the lips.

"I was hoping you'd say that." She said as it was her turn now to initiate the kiss. The kiss grew deeper and more passionate until her hands found the hem of his shirt and started to pull it up, but immediately he broke the kiss.

"Nuh uh" he said as he shook his head no as she looked at him puzzled.

"Well that is a first. Lucas Scott passing on the chance of having sex with his hot girlfriend! Baby are you sick?" she said as she placed her hand on his forehead

"I do have something, and its called homework. Look, I have got a long ass paper due in two days and I haven't even started to work on it. Its not that I don't want to, really, its just that if we do I wont be able to finish in time."

"I promise it'll be quick" she said biting her lower lip and putting a mischievous smile on her face.

"I'm sure it will, but the answer is still no. Sorry." He said as he gently pushed her off him, stood up, and headed towards his laptop again.

"Why did I have to pick responsible the boyfriend that chooses homework over sex?"

"And yet you still love me. Who would've thought that could happen. Huh?"

"Blah, blah" she said doing the mimic with her hands. "But you still haven't promised that you'll think about Nathan."

"Alright, alright. I'll think about it. There? Happy? Said it."

"No Lucas I don't just want you to say it. I want you to mean it."

"Ok. I know how important this is to you, so fine I'll think about it."

"Thank you." She said while kissing him. "Now go do your homework." She said but he just stayed put looking deeply at her. "Lucas go, shu, go, vamonos. Homework awaits."

"Alright, alright. Why did I have to pick the feisty one?"

"Hey! I heard that."

"Oops!" he said as he sat in front of his laptop and continued reading where he had left of.

About ten minutes later everything was completely silent in the apartment when Lucas broke the silence.

"Hey" he said turning around to face her "Are you done with the sketches you were doing earlier?" he asked as she nodded. "Do you love me?" he asked and she raised an eye brow. She knew where this was going already. Being with him for six years has had a toll on her.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no way. You and Jon ate half the food the diner had not more than an hour ago. And now you've got the 'baby I'm hungry please fix me some food' look on your face."

"Please Peyt. I gotta keep the neurons flowing, you know?" he said as he pointed to his forehead. "Plus the food I ate earlier was intended to recuperate all the energy I'd lost playing basketball. This is going to be the real dinner." He said as he gave her the puppy face he knew she couldn't resist.

"Ughhhhh!" she said as she stood from the couch and headed to their small kitchen.

"That's why I love ma girl." He said in a ghetto tone.

"Lucas shut up." She said as she poked her head out the door.

"You know you love me."

"You bet your ass I love you. Cuz if I didn't I wouldn't even be in this kitchen right now."

"Awww! Sweet."

"Just shut up and tell me what you want."

"Uhm, either two burgers with everything or four sandwiches. You choose." He said as she rolled her eyes. "Hey, don't give me that attitude. I'm giving you options here. You do whatever is easier for you and faster for me cuz I'm starving here."

"You're a pig."

"Oink!" he said putting a stupid smile on his face as she poked out her head from the kitchen again and gave him one of those threatening looks she had. "Ouch baby!" he said placing a hand over his heart. "If looks could kill I'd be stiff dead by now."

"Lucas, would you just shut up and do your paper. Later I don't want to hear you whining about how you can never get homework done cuz according to you I'm a big distraction source."

"You are! I mean, have you ever looked at your curves. Those are killers. If they walk by I can't not look at them."

"Lucas…" he heard her say from the kitchen.

"Yes, mam. Got the point, back to work." He said as he quickly resumed his work.

* * *

Lucas now looked back at little moments like those they had and wondered what he would do if she can't forgive him and he can never moments like those again.He needed Peyton back and he needed her bad. 


	4. Chapter 3: Creation

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the great reviews you've been giving the story. Here is Chapter 3. Hope you keep enjoying it as much as you did the others. Dont forget to R&R. :P**

Cristy

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Chapter 3: Creation 

Now it hit him. How was he expecting her to react? Was he really thinking Peyton would stick around after he had not only cheated on her, but also after what he confessed? God, he should've never lied to her, but on the other hand he had to. When did things get so complicated, I mean a couple of months ago he was having the time of his life; he was experiencing real love, he was doing great in school, he had found Jon and Sam, great new friends on which he knew he could always count on, he had a great and promising job, there wasn't a thing in his life he could think of that wasn't perfect. But all of a sudden in the blink of an eye, everything around him changed; and for the worst. Brooke happened, and everything changed.

_

* * *

Lucas was sitting on the couch watching Sunday afternoon football. He had the center table completely covered in drinks and snacks. Well at least enough to satisfy his insatiable appetite for a little while._

_He really needed to have some time to blow off steam after the horrible week that had just passed. His teacher graded his paper on Medieval lit with a C minus; inconsistent and vague he said. That was really going to affect his GPA. And because he worked for so long on his paper he got behind on some paperwork he head to do for the company he was doing the internship in. And to make matters even worse his team had just lost the only game that would give them any chance into getting in the college playoffs. Things couldn't get worse. But then again Peyton was sitting in the other room talking on the phone with Nathan and Haley. That meant that when she hung up she was going to tell him every little detail of what they talked about. _

_The game was tied with two minutes left on the clock before they went into half time when Lucas heard Peyton hang up the phone. "And the ordeal begins" he said to himself as he saw her bounce into the room._

"_Hey baby" she said as she kiss him and sat down next to him. "What are we watching?" she asked as she looked quizzically at him._

"_Football. Can't you see?" He said pointing to the screen._

"_Somebody is cranky." He immediately felt remorseful for snapping at her. None of what happened was really her fault._

"_Peyt, I'm sorry I snapped. Ok? Its just that you know I've had a rough week and it doesn't really help that my team isn't doing very well right now, but I'm definitely not mad at y…" he stopped talking when he heard the narrator say that his team had the ball in their hands. "Yes, yes, yes! Go! Run, idiot run. YES!" he screamed as he stood up to celebrate the touch down the player had just done. "I love you so, so much right now." he said as he looked at her._

"_Who? Me or the big, tall, sweaty, bulky guy who just did a gropedown?" when Lucas heard this remark he let out a stifled laugh._

"_Well, both. And how many times do I have to tell you it's not gropedown, its touchdown."_

"_I know but gropedown sounds so much kinkier." She said with a smile plastered on her face so he kissed her just to make her shut up so he could be able to go back to watching the game. _

_The minutes passed and Peyton now rested her head on Lucas laps while they waited for the half time to be over. When a few seconds before the game resumed she broke the silence._

"_He asked about you, you know? Nathan I mean." She said looking up at him._

"_Good for him."_

"_Lucas" she said while going back to a sitting position, grabbing the remote and turning down the volume of the TV. "You promised you were going to think about the whole Nathan deal."_

"_Here we go." He mumbled " Yes I did promise you that, I'm just not thinking about it right now." he said as he grabbed the remote from her hands and turned the volume back up just in time to hear the narrator say the half time was over and the game had now recommenced._

"_Their anniversary is in a week, and they are having this small party and they want us to go." Lucas was really annoyed now. Was he really going to have to listen to her talk about Nathan and Haley when the game was at its peak?_

"_Peyton" he said turning around to face her "Can we not do this right this instant? Can we talk about it like…" he said making a small pause pretending to think. "…never." He said accommodating himself to allow his body to be in his previous position facing the television._

"_I'm tired of you just finding lame excuses to not talk about it." Peyton said as she grabbed the remote from his hand. "So we are doing it now." she said as she turned the TV off. Lucas immediately turned around to face her anger evident in his face. _

"_I was watching that!"_

"_And your point is?"_

"_Peyton give me the remote." He said as he extended his palm in front of her._

"_I'm not giving it to you." Lucas was really starting to get mad._

"_Peyton! Now!."_

"_Or else?"_

"_Or else you are going to have a very pist boyfriend in about two seconds." He said as she raised a brow and laughed. "Peyton I'm not kidding. Give me the remote!"_

"_What if I don't give it to you?"_

"_Then I'm going to have to get it myself."_

"_Oh really!"_

"_I'm going to give you an opportunity to hand it in willingly. I'm counting to three and by the time I'm done it better be in my hand."_

"_Huh. Not happening." Peyton said as she calmly got up and headed for their room. _

"_One, Two" He said as he got up "Peyton you asked for it." he said right before he started walking down the hall and towards their room. As soon as Lucas turned the knob of the door to their room he heard her laugh while shoving him out of the way. _

"_Oh so this is how its going to be?" he said while smiling. He was determined to get her this time; he saw her turn around the corner towards the living room. He went after her and soon got a hold of her waist as she squirmed trying to get free of his grip._

"_Three" he whispered in her ear as he turned her around and started to tickle her quickly. _

_There was a war going on in their living room. Peyton was grabbing anything at her arms length and throwing in Lucas's direction; cushions, popcorn, anything she could throw at him and wouldn't kill him went in his direction. She even threw the sandwich he had been eating earlier, she needed to distract him long enough to break free from him, and the sandwich definitely did that. She banged the sandwich against his dirty-blond hair; he just stood there in awe feeling all the mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, cheese and ham drip down his face. Peyton took this chance and jump across the table and was now at the other side of the room. Lucas stood up and looked at her._

"_You're so getting it this time Miss Sawyer" _

"_Lucas Scott, don't you dare come near me like that." She said pointing at him, bringing out the fact that he was really, really dirty. As soon as he heard those words come from her mouth he went for her. She quickly reacted, squealed, and went towards the kitchen, in the back of her head Peyton knew she didn't have a chance running against Lucas, but it was worth a shot. Lucas was now the predator and she was the prey. Peyton felt Lucas's hand wrap her body tightly and she made one last shot at freeing herself, but it was worthless. _

_Because of the heated struggle Lucas lost his balance and soon found himself lying on top of Peyton. Hormones were racing on both their bodies at this moment. They where so close to each other that a strand of hair would've been incapable to slide between them. Lucas stared deeply into her hazel eyes and Peyton was getting lost in his enchanting blue eyes. _

_There was such a powerful magnetism between them that Lucas couldn't prevent his lips from touching hers. Before they knew it nature had taken its course and there was nothing they could do about it anymore. Lucas and Peyton were evidently lost in each others mouths. Tongues were running freely and wildly. Lucas separated their bodies a couple of millimeters and Peyton opened her eyes to check if something was wrong. He couldn't believe she was so beautiful and she was his. Quickly they resumed their previous activities, with the only difference that Lucas's mouth was now in Peyton's neck. She tilted her head back as a sign of approval and let a soft sigh escape her body. This was a sweet melody to Lucas's ears, because it meant he was doing a good job pleasing her. _

_All of a sudden Lucas slid off of Peyton and broke out in laughter. Peyton quickly turned around to look at him wanting to know what was so funny. After some short moments of Lucas laughing and not talking, she asked _

"_What's so funny? I hope I'm not the butt of the joke."_

"_Babe I'm sorry. It's just that I always thought someday we would have one of those romantic nights with sexy, kinky stuff we could do in bed like feeding each other strawberries dipped in chocolate, maybe cover our bodies with whipped cream and lick it off or something; I definitely never though being covered with mustard, mayo, ketchup and some bread crumbs would look so sexy on us."_

_Peyton suddenly realized she was a walking sandwich; her hair, face and neck were now covered by sticky, smelly sandwich ingredients. How could it even cross her mind throwing a sandwich at Lucas, she knew he would finally get a hold of her which meant eventually anything that was on him would also be on her._

"_Hey, hey, Peyt what are you thinking about?" he asked, curious to know why she had be quiet for this long._

"_You and how temptingly delicious you look" she said as a mischievous smile appeared on her face._

"_I know I'm delicious, I've been told before"_

"_Not a good time for your ego boosts Scott. This room is too small for us and your ego. Have they ever told you man so cocky is not sexy?"_

"_No. But you still love me anyways" he said while giving her a soft, tender kiss._

"_Of course. What would I do without you, Broody? I would die of boredom if it wasn't for you and your ego."_

_Lucas suddenly stands up and throws Peyton over his shoulders as she starts to scream._

"_Lucas Scott put me down this instant." _

"_Uhm, NO!"_

"_Where are you taking me!" She asks as he heads for the hall._

"_Nowhere special. Just our room. I wanna finish what we started."_

"_No way! Lucas, you are not getting a single kiss from me. You're way too dirty and way too sticky for my taste. You should take a shower."_

"_Oh! Really? Well your wish is my command, my lady." He said as he opened the door with his free hand and headed straight for their bathroom. Almost instantly he found himself opening their bathroom door and heading for the bathtub._

"_No you're not. Lucas I swear I'm not talking to you ever again if you do this." Peyton said already foreseeing his intentions. Lucas started to take her shoes off and when he was done he started struggling to take both his shoes with one hand and keep Peyton from falling with the other. Seconds later he was done. _

_Next thing she heard was Lucas pushing the curtain and opening the shower. "Too late!" he said as he jumped under the cold water with Peyton still in his shoulder. He quickly started to maneuver Peyton's body in order for her to be facing him. After he turned her around he tried to put her down but she wrapped her legs around his body as they started to kiss again. _

_Lucas pressed Peyton's body against the wall as he started to remove her wet and stained black, vintage t-shirt from her body. Water was still falling on their heads which made it very hard for Lucas to keep his eyes open to see what he was doing. Lucas lets go of Peyton for some seconds to remove his sweater and his wife beater and reveal his strong, bare chest. Lucas went back to kissing a semi-naked Peyton who had been playing with her hair trying to wash off all the food but not taking her eyes off of Lucas for a second. Peyton breaks free and pushes him away. She could see the confusion in his face so she spoke._

"_Don't worry cowboy I'm just going to give you a hand." She said with a devious smile on her face. Her hands were going down his bare chest and heading for his jeans. Lucas went for Peyton's neck. Right after, Peyton started to undo the belt buckle, then the button, and slowly started to pull on his zipper and Lucas just froze. He grabbed Peyton's hands and stopped her dead on her tracks._

"_Peyt I don't want us to do something that we might regret tomorrow."_

"_Luke I love you, and there's nothing I did, do, or will do with you that I could ever regret. Besides, we have sex like every day. Why exactly would we regret this?" _

"_Because if we keep this up we are going to end up having sex in our bathtub. Not exactly traditional, but what the hell. Why am I even complaining about this?"_

"_I was just wondering the same thing." she said right before kissing him and going back to unzipping his pants while he started to go for her pants too. Luke's hands were shacking and her zipper was like a code he couldn't crack. He wanted this so bad. He wanted her so bad that he could feel his heart beating so fast that he thought it was going to pop out of his body at any given moment._

"_Need some help?" She said while removing his hands from her pants and agilely sliding them off her body. He quickly did the same with his pants that had been already unbuckled, unbuttoned, and unzipped by Peyton seconds earlier. Peyton and Lucas now were in front of each other with nothing more on them that their underwear. Lucas was wearing Sponge Bob boxers and she was wearing black, laced, semi-transparent bras and shorts. _

_Repeating the same thing he did earlier he threw Peyton over his shoulder and got out of the tub. He was heading for the bed. He placed her wet body gently over the covers and resumed where he had left of seconds earlier._

"_Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked._

"_Condom. Right" He said while running to the top drawer of their left nightstand where they always kept them. "Got it" he said already on top of her again._

"_Luke…you're still forgetting something."_

"_Lets see. You, Me, Condom. I don't think we need something else. Unless you're turning into a little pervert and…." He got a twisted smile on his when Peyton interrupted him to say,_

"_Lucas you left the water running" she said while pointing to the bathroom._

"_Damn it" he mumbled to himself. _

_When he came out of the bathroom he found Peyton staring at him. He checked himself from head to toe to see if he could find a reason for her to be looking at him that way._

"_What?" he said innocently lifting both of his arms to head level, "Why are you staring at me like that?"_

"_You look so incredibly hot! All wet and in those super cute Sponge Bob boxers." She said while signaling him to come over to bed._

"_You don't look so bad yourself" he said cocking his head to a side while already crawling in bed with her. Lucas placed his hands on her back trying to unhook her bra; after a couple of attempts he managed to free her breasts from their silk prison, and he was just mesmerized by the beauty of Peyton and her body. He could see her naked a million times and yet he could still find himself amazed at her beauty._

"_Are you going to just stare at me all night, or are you actually going to put this on and do something" she said while holding the condom at Luke's eye level. He took it and kneeled on the bed while breaking the wrapper. Peyton took her shorts off and was now laying totally naked in front of him. Once again he just froze, captivated by her beauty._

"_God, I have to do things around here myself if I want them done quickly and right" she said while ripping the condom from Lucas's hands and removing it completely from is wrap. Lucas found himself liking the idea that Peyton actually took control of things and just he stayed where he was. She placed the condom on top of the bed and was now playing a very sexy game with the edges of his boxers. She traced her fingers all around Luke's boxers before finally pulling them down and throwing them to the floor. Lucas and Peyton found themselves totally naked in front of each other and it felt great; for them it was like it was the first time all over again. Peyton placed the condom where it was intended to go and pulled Lucas on top of her. Lucas couldn't wait to make her his._

_The feeling was totally different this time; it was nothing like the times before, and Lucas realized why a couple of days later; they've had sex before but this was the first time they actually made love. _

_They spent the whole night being one. Their movements were synchronized, their touches, their moans, even their heartbeats were merged to form one. For that night they stopped existing as individuals. For that night only they were not just Lucas and Peyton, for that night only they were each others biggest fears and greatest desires, they were love in its purest and simplest way. And that night they created something magical, something that would be with them for the rest of their life, something that was a piece of both in one. Many years ahead Peyton and Lucas would realize that that night was the best night of their lives. _


	5. Chapter 4: It Always Comes Down To Those

**Hey guys! Thanks for the wonderful reviews and keep them coming. This chapter was much longer but I decided to divide it into two chapters so I'm posting this one first. Its sort of short but I decided to leave it with somewhat of a "cliffhanger" at the end. Hope you enjoy and dont forget to review.**

**Cristy**

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**Chapter 4: It Always Comes Down To Those Life Altering Moments**

Lucas quickly went from thinking about the best night of his life to the worst. From remembering the night he was with the woman he loved, to remembering the night he was with the woman that by now he had learned to hate. He started to wonder how Brooke could have been so different during the few months they were dating. How can a person change so much? Or was she really just hiding her true self during that time, but if she was, that means that she was doing it ever since Peyton and her met back in their childhood and became best friends? How can you do this to a person you called a best friend for so long? Rapidly his mind shifted back to the events of that whole day and to the disastrous things that happened that night.

_

* * *

Light started to come in shyly through their window, but Lucas had been already awake for a while now. He had always been the early riser while she was more of the very tardy risers. Lucky for them neither had class today._

_He just watched her sleep, she looked like an angel, she was so beautiful, she was so perfect; he just couldn't believe that she had chosen him as the man of her life, and he felt so thankful for that. He never wanted her to leave his side. He could just hold her in his arms forever, exactly like they were now. _

_Peyton's head was resting on his shoulders and shifted sides every once in a while, but never getting an inch further away from him. She was deep in her sleep, while it suddenly came to his mind that he wanted to show how much last night meant to him; he wanted her to know how much she meant to him. She wasn't going to be up for a while so he figured he had a couple of hours to prepare a romantic meal._

_He carefully and silently got up from her bed and got dressed. He took her car keys and drove downtown. Even though it was pretty early he knew he would find the grocery store open because it worked 24/7, so he decided that was going to be his first stop. He took his keys and left her a note before leaving the house. It was a short drive to the store so he knew he had to make his mind up quickly about what he needed to buy. _

"Strawberries, chocolate syrup, pancake mix, eggs, flowers and candles, tons of them, champagne."_ As he thought of how happy ad surprised she would be a light smirk appeared on his face. She might just give him some kind of special reward after this. _"No, Luke focus. Try not to think about sex and Peyton together for a couple of hours."_ Before he knew it he was entering the parking lot of the grocery store. He quickly got off, took a shopping cart, and started to search for everything he had just written down in his mental list. All of a sudden, he felt his cell phone vibrating and quickly reached into his pockets thinking it must be either Peyton or Jon. "_Jon! Oh Shit! He must be at the gym waiting for me."_ He tried to reach the phone even faster now, a million excuses already flashing through his mind. But strangely the number that blinked on his called id screen was unknown to him. Lucas flipped the phone opened and waited silently for someone to talk on the other end._

"_Lucas are you there?"_

"_Brooke!" he stopped dead on his tracks when he heard her voice._

"_I see you haven't forgotten my voice, Broody."_

"_Wao! Its been like what, six, years?" he said with a hint of surprise in his voice. "How've you been?" he asked in a more cordial tone._

"_Look, Broody we can do the catching up later tonight. Right now I'm just calling to tell you that I'll be meeting you at the restaurant La Tratoria tonight at 8pm. Do you know where La Tratoria is?"_

"_Yeah, it's really close to my place actually. But why exactly do you want us to meet today and on such a short notice? I work and I'm not even sure if Peyton has class tonight."_

"_Who said anything about Peyton? I'm expecting you at the restaurant tonight, not you and Peyton. And the reason I'm calling you on such short notice is because I'm only in town for a few days and your phone is very hard to get. So I've wasted half my time here just trying to find a way to get in touch with you."_

"_Wait, so you are telling me you want me to have dinner with you without my girlfriend being there?"_

"_I don't bite Broody. You'll be fine. Or do you need Peyton babysitting you 24/7?"_

"_No Brooke, its not that. Its just that…" _

"_Its nothing Lucas. The reason why Peyton can't be there is because I want to talk to you about her. Look I heard you guys were going serious and I thought you should know some stuff before you might do something you will regret later on."_

"_And what would you have to say that concerns Peyton?"_

"_Lucas please remember the fact that I am, or was, Peyton's best friend for many years. I know her better than anybody. Do you love her?"_

"_With all my heart."_

"_Then I'll be waiting for you tonight at 8. Lucas the truth is that it's a really delicate matter. It's too important to talk about it through the phone."_

"_Alright I'll be there. 8 o'clock, right?"_

"_Yes Broody, 8 o'clock. See you then. Bye." Brooke was about to hang up when she heard Lucas's voice on the other end._

"_Brooke this better be important. I have a lot of things, important things to do and I'm going to put them aside for a few hours just for this."_

"_Trust me it is. Oh and one more thing Lucas, just don't tell Peyton anything about our little rendez-vous."_

"_Brooke that's impossible. Me and Peyton, we don't have any secrets. I have to tell her."_

"_So you think Peyton will be glad that you are meeting a very hot girl, who just happens to be your ex-girlfriend and her ex-best friend for dinner at a very expensive restaurant and that she is not invited?"_

"_Brooke I…" _

"_Lucas it's the best thing and the right thing to do." And before he even had a chance to answer he heard the other line beep. Brooke had just hung up on him._

_On the other end of the phone Brooke Davis was celebrating the outcome of part one from her plan, she had already managed to get Lucas to meet her. She seriously thought it would be harder than it was. She had a whole speech prepared for him; amazingly she didn't need it, at least not for now. Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer were going down and they wouldn't even know what hit them._


	6. Chapter 5: Dreams Of An Uncertain Future

**Hey guys! Chapter 5 is up! Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review.**

**Cristy

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Chapter 5: Dreams Of An Uncertain Future

In an hour span Lucas had already finished shopping and was getting ready to exit the parking lot when he got yet another call on his phone. This time he was sure he wasn't going to get away so easily, Jon would be mad and he was going to be put through hell for bailing on him. But yet another surprise this day brought, the name that flashed was Haley's. He was hesitant to pick it up at first, assuming that Haley might want to talk about him and Nathan but at the last minute he decided to answer the call.

"Before you start talking I want to warn you, if I hear Nathan's name come up once in this entire conversation, I'm hanging up."

"Well good morning to you too. Oh yes, I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking. And I'm not calling to talk about the unmentionable. I was just calling you to personally invite you to our anniversary next week. I talked to Peyton last night and she said she wasn't sure you'd say yes."

"Haley I got work, Peyton has class, its…"

"Over the weekend. Lucas we used to be so tight and now you are making up flimsy excuses so you can get out of coming to my marriage anniversary party. What ever happened to us?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Okay I can tell where this is going." Haley said making a pause. "You know what this is too important to talk over the phone."

"Yeah, that's the second time I've heard that today" Lucas mumbled to himself.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing important. Don't worry about it"

"Lucas our friendship does mean a lot to me. Maybe even more than you think. So why don't you come down here and we'll talk about it during some time in the weekend? I want us to be friends again. Remember back in Junior High, when it was just you and me? I want us to be those persons again."

"Unfortunately Haley that's impossible because you have Nathan and many new friends and I have Peyton and new friends too. So as you can see it's not just you and me anymore. But about the weekend, I'll think about it and I'll try to see if we can make it. But I'm not promising you anything so don't get your hopes up just yet."

"I'm glad Peyton was wrong. She said that as soon as you heard about the whole thing you were going to give a final and rotund no."

"_Well she wasn't wrong because I did give a final and rotund no." _Lucas thought.

"But even though you haven't said yes I'm happy that you'll at least think about it." as Haley was talking Lucas heard Nathan's voice sound in the background and he immediately wanted the call to end. He didn't need to do be thinking about this right now.

"Yeah, look Hales I'm in the middle of something important right now. Can I get back to you with this?"

"Sure. You-know-who just got home anyways so I have to go too. Bye Lucas, and I just want you to know that it would mean the world to me and Nathan if you came."

"Bye Hales." And he ended the call.

During his whole conversation with Haley, Lucas had been driving towards the flower store to get a massive amount of roses in order to fill the house with petals. His stay there was brief. He bought 3 dozen red roses, 3 dozen white roses and 3 dozen yellow roses. Only one more place to go, the department store. He needed a huge amount of candles for what he was planning to do; probably around a hundred. He got off and bought all the candles they had that would adjust to his necessities, paid, and left. Now with all the shopping done all he had to do was set up.

Back at the house, Peyton turned in bed only to find Lucas's spot in bed cold and empty. Instead of his body she found a note.

_Morning Sleepy Head,_

_I wish last night was as amazing for you as it was for me. I hope you slept well and dreamt of me all night, because I sure did. I went out to shop for some things. By the time you read this I'll probably be getting back. Whatever you do don't leave our room, that's an order. If you come out it will spoil the surprise, so amuse yourself for a couple of minutes, could be hours because it might take a while till I have everything ready, but don't worry I promise it will be worth the wait. By the way I just want you to know that I'm doing all of this to show you how much you mean to me and to remind you how much I love you._

_Kisses._

_Luke_

After reading the note she found herself smiling and reliving every single detail of the previous night. She jumped off the bed, she had to be ready. She needed to pick out the perfect outfit; she needed to look great by the time he came home, and by what the note said she wouldn't have much time.

By the time Lucas was back it was almost 10:30, he had to set up everything, and he had to do it fast. He knew Peyton wasn't the most patient person and she would soon get curious. He dropped the bags in the living room and went to check on her. He opened the door and saw she was no longer in bed, obviously she had read the note.

"Peyt, where are you?" he said while walking into their room.

"Hey you" she said opening the bathroom door. Peyton had just gotten out of the shower; her body was still pretty wet and wrapped in a tiny towel. Lucas's jaw dropped as he saw her emerge from the bathroom. No matter how many times he saw her it still felt like the first one. He couldn't help it, he was still amazed by her beauty.

"So Luke, what's this all about? You leaving really early and secretly sneaking around. What is my boyfriend up to?"

"Get ready and ask no questions because there is nothing coming out of these lips until I have everything ready." While he said this she started to get come towards him, and by the time he was done talking they were only a few inches away.

"Do you think bribery would work in this case?"

"I don't know try me? Maybe I'm weaker than what we both think" right after he said this she started kissing him deeply. Lucas was driven crazy by her fresh, sweet smell and moments later Luke placed Peyton on the bed falling on top of her. But he suddenly remembered he had things to do and ended the kiss.

"Woa."

"So did it work? Are you going to tell me what it is you're preparing?"

Lucas smiled and moved towards the door. He showed every intention to tell her, but as he turned the door knob he swiftly turned around and said "Get ready and you may find out in a little while."

"Luke" she said starting to pout "how can you do that to me? At least give me a clue. Tiny whittle clue" she said the last phrase imitating a baby's voice.

"Ahhhhhh, that's so cute!" he said walking towards her, and finally giving her a tender peck "But no. You will definitely be rewarded for you patience." He said while walking towards the door again.

"Lucas Scott, I hate you!"

"Big deal, I love you enough for both of us." He said before closing the door after him.

In about an hour everything was ready. Food was cooked, candles were lit, and rose petals were laying everywhere. Everything was ready for her now.

Lucas entered their room and found her sitting on her desk drawing. She was so into her art that she didn't even acknowledge him. When he got near enough he saw that the drawing was divided in two frames; the first one was of the two of them like they were just moments ago, hugging and kissing, and the second one was the dialogue they had right after that. She was standing with a bubble on top of her head that read "Lucas Scott I hate you." He had the door knob in his hands and a bubble on top of his head that read "Big deal, I love you enough for both of us."

"Boo" he whispered in her ear while poking his finger on her sides. She immediately jumped from her seat and scribbled all over the drawing.

"You're a jackass! You scared me."

"Nu uh, really!" he said with a sarcastic look on his face. "I kinda think that was the whole point"

"You know I could've hurt you. I'm very dangerous. Plus, I really liked that one, and now it's ruined"

"Yeah right! You wouldn't hurt a fly." He said while dragging her out of the room and heading towards the hall. "Close your eyes." He whispered in her ear while holding both of her hands in his.

"What you're going to throw me down the stairs."

"Now that you say it, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. If you're dead I can fulfill my biggest dream; I can become a pimp."

"Yeah, like you're not one already." She said while forcing him to give her a hug. "But I know I'm your favorite biatch."

"How did you know? Am I that obvious?" he said while she nodded and pecked him on the lips. "C'mon Peyton, food's getting cold. Close your eyes now." He said while putting his hands over her eyes.

"Whatever"

He guided her slowly down the hall, and when he finally got to the end of it he put his hands on her waist as she slowly opened her eyes trying to adjust them to the dimly candle light living room.

As soon as he left Peyton's room a while ago, Lucas started working pretty hard to get everything ready quickly. First thing he did was put the roses in a vase to prevent them to get wilted until the time he had to remove all the petals. Then he put in place all 103, different sized, colored and scented candles, he had bought. When that part was ready he started to do the dirty job; he started to cook. He fried bacon, made French toasts; he did pancakes, scrambled eggs, and washed and took the stems of the strawberries. When all in the kitchen was ready, he started to set up the table. When he had everything cooked and served, he started to light up all the candles. There was a delicious mixed smell of vanilla, lavender, strawberries, cucumber, and lilacs from all the different types of candles that were lit in the living room. To make the ambient more romantic Lucas closed all the curtains and drapes from any window that could let light in the room.

Peyton's jaw dropped as soon as she saw this and she immediately turned around and wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck and rested her forehead over his. "Thank You" she mumbled quietly as he started to kiss her.

"Peyt, I knew from day one that I saw you that we were meant to be together. You're the woman that I love and want to spend the rest of my life with." As he said this he started to get on one knee. As soon as he did this Peyton felt her knees getting week and the back of her eyes starting to fill with tears. "Peyton you're the woman I want to grow old with and you're the one that I want to be the mother of my kids."

"Lucas, I…"

"No, Peyt let me finish" he said while placing a finger over her lips "I just want you to know that everything I tell you, I mean it. I want you to know that you're not wasting your time with me. I want to make our relationship formal and serious for us and for the world. I love you and nothing's going to change that, ever. I was walking through the mall a couple of weeks ago, and I passed through a jewelry store; I don't know what made me stop and go inside, but I did and as soon as I saw this ring it reminded me of you and me and what we have, it was like I had a connection with it. So I went ahead and bought it, I've been carrying it around with me for weeks. I wasn't really planning on giving it to you till graduation, but after all that happened yesterday, but especially last night and how it made me feel I had no doubt in my mind that I needed you to know how much you meant to me. It was like last night I fell in love with you all over again. And I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer. I needed you to know." By the time he said this Lucas himself had teary eyes. "So what do you say Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, would you like to spend the rest of your life with me, have a bunch of little Scotts to have 'em running around the house and after all that grow old together?" he said while making a pause and watching her straight into the eyes "Peyt, would you like to be my wife?"

By the time he was done Peyton had a river of tears flowing down her cheeks. She had a big lump on her throat, she couldn't speak. Had Lucas really just asked her to marry him? Was she dreaming? And if she was, how long would this dream last? She saw him still kneeling and looking dead straight at her, knowing that he was expecting an answer she said:

"Luke, I love you. You know that right? And I'm really flattered you went through all this trouble for me but I really don't know what to say"

"Then say yes Peyton, say yes. We love each other and that's all we need."

She just looked away. Deep down he was a little disappointed that she hadn't said yes right away, even though he was trying to hide it. That had made him think that maybe she didn't feel things were as great and perfect as he did. Maybe she wasn't really in love with him. Lucas tried to quickly change the topic, trying not to make her feel pressured into giving an answer she wasn't sure of.

"Peyt, look you don't have to answer right now, you can think about it. Take all the time you need; I'm not going anywhere. I don't want you to feel pressured into this or anything of that sort. OK?" he said as he got up, wiped away her tears, and kissed her forehead. "Why don't we just go eat, its getting cold" He started to walk towards the dinning room where everything was ready for them to sit and have a quiet and peaceful meal. But unexpectedly Peyton pulled him towards her and kissed him.

"Yes" she said as she broke the kiss and parted from him a couple of millimeters.

"What?" Luke said with a surprised look on his face.

"Yes, I do want to marry you, and grow old together and have a bunch of little Lucas Scotts running around our house" immediately after she said this Lucas picked her up and started to spin her around the living room, but pretty soon lost his balance after spinning a bunch of times causing them to fall and burst out in a fit of laughs. After a couple of minutes eventually the laughter stopped and Peyton turned to face Lucas.

"Can you believe we just got engaged?" Lucas shook his head no. "Broody, a question just popped in my mind. What were you going to do if I said no?"

"Nothing. I was pretty damn sure you were going to say yes." He said before kissing her "Now lets go. I'm pretty sure that by now the food is definitely cold." They both laughed. Lucas and Peyton walked into the dinning room. Peyton was amazed when she saw all the candles and petals on the floor surrounding a picnic sheet and basket that where carefully set up on the floor.

"It's beautiful."

"I know. It has to be. I did it, remember?"

"God, am I going to have to put up with your cockiness for the rest of my life?"

"Looks like it."

"I just wish our kids aren't as half as cocky as you are. I have enough with you, I don't need any more."

"Oh, Shut Up!"

"Geez, I just imagine how things would be if you were any good in bed." When he heard this he put a shock face on.

"That was low."

"Truth hurts, face it."

"Truth hurts, face it" Lucas said mocking Peyton's words.

"Hey, I just remembered we forgot something." He said as Peyton stared at him with a confused stare. "You have to wear this to make things official." He said while taking the ring out of his pocket and slipping it into her finger.

"I love you" they both said after they kissed.

"Now lets eat please. I'm starving. And this better be good because I'm warning you, I'm not lifting a finger after we get married. You better get used to the idea of being my maid." She said.

"Ha ha, funny. I wish our kids don't get your sense of humor because if they do…" he was interrupted by a smack to the back of the head. "Ouch! That hurt."

"Really?" She said as she dipped a strawberry in chocolate syrup. "I kinda think that was the point but I could be confused you know." She said right before taking a bite of the strawberry. "Ohhh, this is great. Here try one." Peyton said as she started feeding him.

And that's how they spent the rest of their morning and early part of their evening; with them feeding each other, kissing and cuddling and talking about basically anything and everything. They talked about their future together, about their dreams and plans. They also talked about the past and what obstacles they had to overcome to be where they are now. But little did they know that all those plans and dreams might not turn out quite as they hoped.


	7. Chapter 6: Time To Face The Challenges

**Hey, this is a long chapter but it has a little bit of everything; it has some Leyton, some Lucas/Jon interaction, and it ends with some very expected Brucas. I love reading all of your reviews and I would love to keep receiving them.**

**Cristy**

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****Chapter 6: Time To Face The Challenges and Obstacles Life Presents You With**

After a lot of fooling around, cuddling and kissing the newly-engaged couple had fallen asleep in each others arms. It had been about an hour and a half since Lucas proposed and after all that excitement they had dozed off pretty quickly. Everything around them was an enormous mess because of the food fight they had started after Peyton smashed a strawberry into Lucas's face.

Peyton and Lucas were covered in chocolate, pancake syrup, jelly, scrambled eggs and everything else they could find within hands reach. Finally Lucas got a hold of Peyton and tackled her to the dirty, slippery floor and fell on top of her. After getting lost in each others eyes for some seconds they started a pretty deep, passionate and long make out session interrupted by spontaneous and sporadic 'I love yous' and for some short gasps for air. Then they just broke the kiss and stayed close to each others bodies, just for the fun of feeling each others heart beats.

Lucas was now slowly starting to wake up. He tried not to move a lot or abruptly, avoiding to wake Peyton up too. He took a glimpse at his watch and realized that if he didn't leave the house now he was going to be really late for his daily basketball game with Jon. He slowly started to break free from Peyton's grasp and when he finally got her hands unwrapped from his body he got up. As soon as he started walking away he felt the touch of a hand in his leg and turned around to find Peyton staring at him, still rubbing the sleep of from her eyes.

"Go back to sleep. I'll be back in about an hour." He said while planting a soft kiss on her lips.

"Where are you going? Got a date with your other girlfriend?"

He scoffed while smiling "I wish it was nearly that fun." He looked again at his watch "Its almost three; Jon must be waiting for me at the courts and I already stood him up this morning at the gym. If I bail on him again he is going to go on his annoying chick phase and will never let me forget this one."

"You want me to go with you?" Peyton said while sitting up.

"Nah, its ok stay here and get some more sleep. I'll be back pretty soon."

"You sure?" she said laying her head back on the floor. As messy, dirty, and hard as it was for some strange reason she felt pretty comfortable there.

"Yes I'm sure and if I don't leave right now in this instant I'm going to be even later." He said taking a look at his watch. "See you soon, take care. Bye, Love ya."

"Luke"

"Yeah?" he said as he turned around to face her.

"Take a look at yourself" she said pointing at his clothes. Lucas had totally forgotten how dirty he was.

"Damn it!"

"I think you need to take a shower before you leave. But you know that's just me." She said with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"I'm going have to call Jon and tell him I'm running a little late so he won't get mad at me." He said while taking his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly dialing Jon's cell number.

"_Luke, where the hell are you? And where the hell where you this morning? I waited like a jackass for you for an hour at the gym."_ Jon said at the other end of the line.

"Sorry Jon. But trust I got a good excuse today, I'll give most of the dirty details when I get there. I just woke up and I need to take a shower because I look like a walking sundae. You think we could meet in an hour, same place?."

"_I swear to god Luke, if you weren't my best friend I would've neutered you by now."_

"See you in an hour Jonnie Boy."

"_Bye."_

As soon as Lucas hung up he headed for the bathroom.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower, alright?"

"Yeah, I'm going stay here and clean this up a bit"

"Ok" Lucas said already going down the hall. By the time he entered their room he only had his pants on him. He started rummaging through his stuff but couldn't find anything he was in the mood to wear.

"Peyt, have you seen the black and white T-shirt Jon gave me for Christmas?" he screamed from their room. He had to wear that hideous T-shirt just to please Jon, he couldn't tell him he hated it and he thought that if he saw him wearing it today he wouldn't be as mad as he should be.

"It's in the laundry room"

"I haven't wore that in forever. How come it's dirty?"

"Exactly, what's the point in washing it if you don't wear it?"

"C'mon I really wanna wear it. I want Jon to see me wearing it at least once."

"He gave it to you eight months ago and now is the right time for him to see you wearing it? Just wear something else."

"No that's the one I want and that's the one I'm wearing." He said while running for the laundry room with only his boxers on.

"Why does he have to be so goddamn stubborn? Why?" Peyton mumbled. "Lucas that shirt probably stinks. It's been in there for months." She told him.

"Great" Luke said holding up the shirt pointing out an enormous mold stain on the center of the shirt. He tossed it to the garbage can and jogged back to their room leaving Peyton clueless about what just happened. He opened his drawer and took out a gray shirt and some sweat pants and went into the bathroom. He turned on the hot water while he stripped. He got in the shower, grabbed the soap, and started to clean all the food off of him. Few minutes later he heard the bathroom door open but ignored it knowing that it was Peyton. What he didn't expect was her being completely naked and jumping in the shower with him.

"I think I need a shower too." she said with a mischievous look on her face.

"I'm sure you do" he said heading towards her and starting a very passionate kiss.

In a matter of minutes they were out of the shower, their bodies wrapped in towels and both heading for the door. Peyton jumped on the bed just as she let out a loud sigh. Pretty quickly Lucas started changing and was now giving his look the final touches and almost ready to head out. He went to the bathroom spiked his hair with some gel, put some perfume on, checked his looks on the mirror, and approved it. He was now ready to go. He still had a couple of minutes to spare but he thought the least he owed Jon was getting there early; he had already waited long enough.

"I'm so going to miss you." He said while kissing her goodbye.

"Yeah, Yeah" Peyton said rolling her eyes. "Just go already."

Lucas blew her a kiss from the door and rolled his eyes realizing how cheesy he had just been. He took his car keys and his basketball, and went out the door.

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In no time he got to the court and saw that Jon was sitting on the benches, his back to Lucas. He silently got off the car and he snuck over to him. 

"Boo!" he said as he shook him from behind as Jon threw a high pitched scream.

"You're an ass, Lucas Scott. Did you know that?" he said as he turned around and saw who it was. "You could've killed me." He said as Lucas laughed.

"Maybe that was the plan. Dude, I swear to god you are getting gayer every day. Did you yourself scream? That was a definitely a chick scream." He said as Jon shot a killer look at him.

"You really scared me. And I really don't think it's possible that I could turn any gayer. Besides I just really like to pamper myself."

"Right." He said with a sarcastic tone "You like to pamper yourself by getting manicures, pedicures, facials, plucking your eyebrows, waxing your body, and stuff like that? Dude that is chick stuff."

"I just like to look good for my man."

"I look good for my girl but and I don't have to do any of that."

"Well you should. Have you seen your chest lately? Its like George of the Jungle in there mister." He said poking Luke's chest. "You should let me and Sam wax it. We do a pretty good job on ourselves." He said showing his chest to Lucas.

"Eww and Hell no! You, Sam, a shirtless me, and wax in the same room. Not a good combination. Sorry buddy but I like my hairy chest and I haven't heard Peyton complain yet so I'm pretty sure it'll stay like that for a while longer."

"Your loss macho man." To this comment Lucas rolled his eyes and after a couple of seconds of silence replied.

"I did it Jon. I finally had the guts. I finally proposed." he said as a large smile appeared on his face and immediately Jon screamed and threw himself over Lucas, and Lucas immediately pushed him off, looked around to see if anyone saw what just had happened, straightened his clothes, and tried to play it cool.

"Jon how many times have I told you and Sam to keep the demonstrations of affection towards me on a minimum level when we are in public?"

"What? Straight boy is scared people might start to think you joined our club?" Jon said as he slapped Luke's butt and Lucas immediately moved a couple of steps away to a place where he was sure Jon's hand couldn't reach any one of his vital spots that were lower body.

"No Jon, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm pretty sure I like women." Luke said and Jon rolled his eyes.

"No biggie, I used to like women once too. But one night I just realized that guys know how to have a whole lot more fun." Jon said as he winked an eye at Lucas.

"Jon I seriously don't want to hear again the story of the night you realized you were gay."

"But its so funny." He said as he slapped Luke's arm.

"Not for me it isn't."

"See now I can't kill you, I couldn't make Peyton a widow. And notice that I'm saying a widow because by the smile you had on your face a while ago I'm guessing she said yes."

"Who could say no to me? I mean take a look at me." He said spinning around for Jon to check him out from head to toes.

"You are pretty hot" and Lucas quickly realized how much of a bad idea spinning around for his gay best friend was. "I just love that sexy body of yours. You are like such a waste of a man. But once again I just have to say your ego is such a turn off."

"Whatever man." There was a short period of silence between the two guys.

"Ok so did we come here to play basketball or to watch the cars pass?" Jon said getting up and throwing the ball at Lucas, who stayed immobile.

"Brooke called me today." Luke said looking down at his feet.

"As in 'your ex-girlfriend, Peyton's ex best friend, girl with the hottest sense of fashion I've ever seen and only chick on the planet who would make me turn straight again with just asking' Brooke?"

"Pretty much." He said raising his eyes to look at Jon.

"What did she want?" Jon said putting the basketball on the ground and sitting on the benches besides Lucas. "Hasn't it been like six years since you guys last saw her or even talked to her?" he asked as Lucas nodded.

"She wants us to meet tonight for dinner."

"I don't see the harm in that."

"When I say us I mean Brooke and I, and without Peyton finding out." He said as Jon made a disgust face.

"This could get ugly. Aren't you and Peyt doing the whole no secrets things?"

"Yeah, and I really don't want to start keeping secrets from her now but Brooke said that Peyton wasn't invited to dinner because there was something really important she needed to talk me about and that it concerned Peyton."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know man. If I go when Peyton finds out she's going to be really pist. But if I don't go I'm going to wonder what was it that Brooke wanted to talk to me about Peyton for the rest of my life."

"Then go. I'm sure Peyton will understand the circumstances that made you keep this from her, but regretting this for the rest of your life. Now that's major." Jon said as Lucas nodded his head in agreement.

"I guess you are right. But I'm going to need your help with this one."

"No" Jon said as he shook his head "If Peyton is going to be mad at someone its going to be you. Don't drag me into your mess."

"Alright so then you tell me exactly how I'm going to manage to leave the house to go to dinner with Brooke without Peyton getting suspicious."

"Tell her you need to work late at the office to make up for all the paperwork you have piled up because of your project on Medieval lit."

"I'm supposed to be out of work at six. She knows that none of the things I have to do in the company require me to be at the office. I can perfectly do all the things I have to do at home. She is not going to buy it. I really need your help in this one."

"Ok fine. But with one condition."

"Oh god." Lucas said putting on a very worried face. Knowing Jon this wasn't going to be pretty. "What do you want from me?"

"If you want me to help you tonight you are going to have to do something for me too."

"What?"

"You are going to let me wax off all your chest hair monthly from now on."

"No way!"

"Ok then you're on your own tonight." He said as he turned his back on Lucas "So, did we come to play ball or what?" Jon said as he picked up the basketball from the floor and made a three-pointer from where he was standing.

"Alright" Lucas mumbled between his teeth.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Jon said as he walked towards Lucas and Lucas sighed in frustration.

"I said alright" Lucas mumbled again.

"Little louder please. I still can't quite understand what you said." Jon said, placing his hand on his ear and getting his head close to Lucas's mouth. He loved annoying Lucas as much as Lucas enjoyed annoying him.

"I said alright!"

"I knew it! Now I'm going to be able to get rid of all that unwanted hair" he said as he looked and pointed down Lucas's t-shirt. "Its been bugging me since the day we met. Give me your phone." Jon said putting out his hands as Lucas looked at him quizzically. "Do you want me to call Peyton, yes or no?" he said as Lucas reached into his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. Jon took it from his hands, dialed the familiar number to Lucas's house, and started pacing around the court waiting for Peyton to pick up. "Peyt honey, How are you?" Lucas heard Jon pause, Peyton was talking "Fine, Sam is doing just fine. Well anyways I'm just calling to let you know that I'm kidnapping your man tonight. We are having a guys night in." Another pause "Why? Um, well we made a bet today and he lost so tonight me and Sam are going to give him a makeover. We're going to pamper him as every single man should be pampered." Lucas heard yet another pause and Jon let out a laugh "Alright we'll do that too and don't worry about the rest, it's a surprise. Well honey, talk to you later. Your man is going to be my private work of art, and that is going to take some time." Jon said as he flipped the phone. "She's ok with it. You so owe me one. Big time."

"I don't owe you one, because you are making me wax my chest for this. So my payment is done."

"Talking about wax, we should get going. I have to heat the damn thing and knowing you and how difficult and whinny you are the whole waxing process is going to take some time." Jon said as he grabbed Luke's hand and made him stand up and walking towards their respective cars. "Oh, by the way she asked me to get rid of the facial hair." Jon said pointing to Lucas's face. "She said its starting to get itchy." As Jon said this Lucas rubbed his face.

"No way. I've been letting this baby grow for a month now. I'm not getting rid of my beard. Waxing my chest is enough."

"How do you expect her to believe that we gave you a make over if there is no difference on you?"

"Missing hair in the chest area is a big difference to me."

"Dude we have to do this one. Besides your baby will grow back again." Jon said giving Lucas a sympathetic look. "Don't be so whinny. Come on."

"You know you are really starting to get annoying."

"And yet you still hang out with me." Jon said as he got into his car. Lucas shook his head and rolled his eyes and immediately got into his car and they both started their engines and headed of to Jon's house.

* * *

"Baby, we're home." Jon screamed as he entered his and Sam's apartment. Lucas quickly followed and sat on the couch that was in front of the TV, grabbed the remote, and tuned in the sports channel. Jon's house had been his second home for the past three and a half years, so when Lucas was here he felt like if he was at his own home. 

"Nuh Uh." Jon said as he took the remote from Lucas's hands and turned the TV off. "You didn't come here to watch TV. You came here to get beautiful." When he said this Sam was walking out of the bedroom and into the living room.

"Hey Straight Boy" Sam said to Lucas, walked over to Jon and pecked him on the lips. "Hey Sweetie."

"Guys, guys, guys, guys" Lucas said as he closed his eyes and shook his head in disgust. "Straight Boy is still in the room. Mind if we keep the PDA close to zero while I'm within eyesight distance?" Sam scoffed.

"We have to watch you and Peyton do it all the time." Sam said.

"Not the same."

"Yes the same." Sam replied. Jon knew that Lucas and Sam couldn't be in a room without starting an argument, so he had to get rid of one of them if he wanted to get anything done today.

"Sam, honey, why don't you go gossip a little with Vinnie downstairs? Luke and I have some stuff we need to do."

"Why do I always get kicked out when he comes over?" Sam said annoyed and curious.

"Because you two can't behave when you are around each other." Jon said pointing at Lucas and Sam. "You guys remind me of cats and dogs."

"Its not my fault. He always starts it." Lucas said pointing to Sam who put on a shock face.

"Not true. If you weren't so stuck up maybe I could try to get along with you. But that is impossible because you are impossible." Sam said giving Lucas some of his feisty attitude.

"I'm not stuck up and I'm definitely not impossible." Lucas said in a defensive tone while standing up from the couch and facing an angry Sam who rolled his eyes at Lucas's response.

"Oh no! Here we go again." Jon said as he walked over to Sam and started pushing him towards the door. "You need to go. Come back later." Jon said as he opened the door, nudged Sam out into the hallway, and closed the door. Immediately he turned around to face Lucas who had gone back to sitting on the couch.

"Your boyfriend gets on my nerves." Lucas said.

"And you get on his. So lets call it even." Jon said as he walked over to Luke and pulled him off the couch. "Now, lets step into my office." Jon said opening the door to one of the rooms in his apartment. Lucas was surprised when he walked inside and saw so many cosmetics and beauty products. He was sure Peyton didn't have this much stuff and she was girl. Jon realizing that Lucas was fairly surprised by what he saw said "Wipe off that shock face. You know very well that I love to spoil myself." Jon said as he gave Lucas the final nudge he needed to step completely into the improvised spa.

"Wait a second" Lucas said as he turned to face Jon "I've known you for what, almost four years now? Why haven't I been in here before? Hell, why didn't I even know this place existed? You've never mentioned it before."

"Yes I do mention it all the time, its just that you start ignoring whatever I say whenever I get into really gay mode, besides you know me and Sam do all of our pampering here at home. Where did you think we did, in the living room or the bed room? I'm better than that." Jon finished talking and Lucas had a puzzled look on his face. A few seconds of silence followed as Lucas's eyes scanned the room unsure and afraid of what might happen to him while he was in here.

"Straight boy, time for the magic to begin." Jon said as he grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and made him lie down on the bed. "Take of your shirt." Lucas shot him a 'yeah-right' glare. "Don't get all shy on me. I've seen you butt naked on the showers. We are on the same team, remember? Plus I need to examine the damage extent on your chest." Jon said as he walked away and turned on the wax heater. As Jon did this Lucas complied and took his shirt off.

"Honey," Jon said in a sympathetic tone with a sad look on his face "should I call the zoo and tell them I have one of their creatures here in my apartment?" Jon said and Lucas gave him the finger. "Feisty. I like that."

Jon started rummaging through one of the drawers in the room and a few seconds later pulled out a razor blade. "Now get in there" Jon said pointing to the bathroom "and loose the beard."

"I said no man. I'm not shaving the beard." Lucas said as Jon walked over to him threateningly.

"Either you do it or I will. Your choice cowboy." Jon said giving Lucas an ultimatum. Lucas knew there was no way he was getting out of this one, so he snatched the razor out of Jon's hand and headed for the bathroom. About ten minutes later Lucas walked out and found Jon lying on the bed.

"Is this good enough?" he said as Jon stood up from the bed and walked up to him.

"Lucas Scott I said loose the facial hair."

"Oh come on. It was a beard, now it's down to a goatee. There's a makeover right there." Lucas said and Jon raised a brow and pointed towards the bathroom.

"I hate you." Lucas said as he slammed the door on Jon's face.

Couple of minutes later Lucas walked out again. This time with no facial hair in sight.

"Gorgeous, simply gorgeous." Jon commented.

"Whatever. Lets just get this over with. I don't even know why I asked for your help."

"Because you love me maybe?"

"Doubt it."

"Get your butt over here and lay down. The wax is hot and read for you." Lucas obeyed and laid shirtless and face up on the bed while Jon was preparing the wax. Seconds later Jon was walking over to Lucas and looked down at him. "I'm not going to lie to you. This is hot and it will hurt, but beauty has its sacrifices." He said as he applied the first batch of wax on Lucas's chest. As soon as Lucas felt the heat touch his skin he winced. "I guess karma does bite you in the ass. This morning you said I scream like a girl. Now it's my turn to hear you scream." He said as he pulled the strip of fabric he had applied a few seconds ago on top of the wax. Lucas clenched his fists in pain, mumbled a few curses and got up from the bed.

"Where do you think you are going missy?" Jon asked.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to go through that again." Lucas said and Jon laughed. "I know you enjoy making me suffer and its not funny, at least not for me."

"So you are telling me that you intend to walk into the showers after practice tomorrow like that?" Jon said pointing to Lucas chest. Lucas automatically looked down, saw the bald spot he had on one of the sides of his pectorals, mumbled some more curses, and laid back down on the bed.

"This better be over quickly."

After a few minutes and a lot of curses Lucas's chest was completely hairless. Jon was very proud of his work and Lucas was in a lot of pain.

"Now go take a shower." Jon ordered Lucas.

"Man, I just thought of something. What am I going to wear to dinner tonight? I don't have any clothes with me and I'm pretty sure I'm not going in sweats."

"Then you are so lucky you and Sam are about the same size. Go take a shower and I'll pick your outfit. I'm pretty sure there is something in Sam's closet that you can wear."

"Should I be worried?"

"Just go. Its already 7:22 and you don't want to be late. You take a shower and I'll handle the wardrobe." Jon said as he shooed Lucas into the bathroom and walked out of the room and into his and Sam's room.

About ten minutes later Lucas walked out of the shower with just a towel wrapped around his waste. The first thing he saw when he walked out of the bathroom was the clothes that were sprawled out on the bed. He was shocked; Jon had done a pretty good job picking out the outfit. Definitely something he'd wear.

"You better get your butt in gear." Jon said standing at the door and resting on the door frame. "Its 7:38 already, either you pick up the pace or you are going to be late." He said exiting the room and closing the door after him so Lucas could change. Lucas was out of the room completely dressed and ready to go in ten minutes. By the time Lucas walked out Jon was sitting in the couch watching whatever game was on at that moment. When Jon saw Lucas he smiled.

"Brooke is going to be one horny chick when she lays her eyes on you. You look absolutely delicious."

"Whatever you say man. And I don't care if Brooke gets horny or not. Its not like I'm going to get any benefit from it. I've got Peyton to take care of that." He said walking over to Jon and shaking hands with him. "Normally I would say thank you for helping me out but this has been one of the worst experiences I've had in a long time so maybe some other day."

"Hey hot shot, talking about Peyton, what am I supposed to say if by any chance she calls asking about you or wanting to talk to you?"

"You know what I'll leave that up to you. You're the bullshit master, I'm pretty sure you can make something up." He said walking over to the door and Jon laughed. "Anyways man look at time; its 7:49 already I've got to jet."

"Alright. Have fun, take care, and don't have sex."

"Never going to happen. Bye" Lucas said closing the door behind him.

"Bye" Jon answered even though he knew Lucas couldn't hear him.

* * *

It was now seven fifty-two. Lucas stormed out to his car and started the drive towards the restaurant. He had a hard time finding a parking spot and by the time he got to the restaurant it was three minutes past eight. Immediately after he walked in he headed towards the hostess. 

"Good evening sir may I help you?" Said the tall, blonde, good-looking girl that stood behind the counter.

"Yeah. I, um, do you know if Brooke Davis is here already?"

"Oh, you're the gentleman Ms. Davis is expecting. Follow me please." She said as Lucas immediately followed her. She took him towards a secluded, silent, very private area of the restaurant. This was obviously the VIP area. He immediately spotted Brooke who was sitting, his back to him, in one of the few fancily-prepared tables of the room. She was wearing a bare-back scarlet red dress that left very little work for your imagination. The cleavage was a v-cut that ended right under her firm and nicely shaped breasts. She was wearing black stilettos and a lot of makeup. All these years have done nothing but make her more beautiful. _She looks perfect_.

He wore black formal pants and a long-sleeved black shirt with very thing white stripes. Jon had made him pull the sleeves to elbow level, he said it made him look stylish, and he had the two top buttons unbuttoned. Jon wanted him to show his recently waxed chest. _He looks astonishing._

Brooke immediately acknowledged his presence and smiled. He walked over to the table, but she didn't turn around.

Lucas gasped as soon as he saw Brooke; he had never seen her so beautiful or even so sexy for that matter.

_Shit! This is going to be a long, hard night._ Lucas thought.


End file.
